Just another Gal with Endometriosis

So, after nearly 2 years of pelvic pain and believing it to be caused by endometriosis, I finally got an answer today: I have diverticulosis

I was surprised to learn this. I don’t know how it slipped by my primary care, but it did. The CT Scan I had back in October showed the problem, as did the report from the radiologist. Had I known this then, I would not have canceled my December appointment.

It is very uncommon to have this problem at such a young age (under 40). My father had diverticulitis (diverticulosis is the beginning stage and diverticulitis occurs with severe disease of the colon and often results in surgery). The doctor believes that this problem was likely caused by the lack of fiber in my diet. I have been trying to eat more fiber over the last 6 months and although I eat a lot of it, I still don’t have bowel movements. I need to eat more fruit and veggies. I like fruit. I hate veggies. I just can’t stomach most of them. I’m going to try to improve that, even if I only eat raw celery (one of the few vegetables I do like). It’s better than nothing.

I have a colonoscopy scheduled for April. I was against having this procedure done if the doctor had no reason to do (if s/he was just fishing around for a problem). Now that I know there’s an issue, I’m okay with having it done (my hemorrhoids, on the other hand, are not). The colonoscopy will tell them how bad the diverticulosis is and if there’s any problem with bowel adhesions (which could also be an issue given all the abdominal surgeries I have had).

In the meantime, I’m going to continue to exercise and try to get even better with my nutrition. If you have any good websites or recipes that mask vegetables’ true identity, please share! I need masked veggies desperately!🙂

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Oh what an awful week. I have been struggling with the scale all week. Of course I periodically weigh myself throughout the week, even though it isn’t an official weigh in day. Why? Apparently I thoroughly enjoy torturing myself.

This week’s weigh in was no different than last week’s. I got on the scale numerous times. Each time, the same number appeared. It was disappointing, to say the least. The result? A .6 lb gain. Ugh. I am quickly losing my motivation. This is not good.

I’ve been sticking to eating healthy. Honestly, that hasn’t even been a challenge for me. We did go out to eat yesterday (Red Robin) and it just didn’t taste as good as it did the first time I went. I’m not sure if the novelty of it had worn off or if I’m just not into eating fattening, disgusting (but yummy) food. Maybe I’m just getting used to eating healthy! I still do enjoy baked goods though – brownies, cookies, etc. – and that’s why I don’t bake any or buy anything like that to bring into my house! Self-control = do not buy it! Once it’s in the house, it’s all down hill from there.

I got a really great response to my weight gain, when I posted it on Facebook. You have to be honest with yourself. If I’m going to share my wins, I have to share my losses (or gains). A lot of people reassured me that it is muscle that I’m gaining and that the number on the scale doesn’t matter. Easier said than done. When you’ve been overweight for so long, all you ever see (and all doctors ever care about) is the number on the scale. It doesn’t matter if you’re short, fat, and exercise all the time – the number is what everyone cares about. The longer you live your life overweight, the more you are taught that the number on the scale is what matters. It’s going to be an incredibly hard cycle to break.

I have definitely noticed some positive changes. First off, I’ve definitely lost some inches around my waist and arms. I’ve just done a quick measuring, but about .5″ around the arms and 2″ around the waist. I won’t take official measurements until Week 4. My pants feel a tad looser. Valentina also had a swim lesson this week and I noticed it was easier to get out of the pool than in sessions past (they’re not regular stairs and you have to pull yourself up on the railing). I’ve always been afraid I didn’t have the strength to pull myself up and yesterday I noticed that it was a little easier. Yay for small victories, right?

I’m worried about the week ahead as there will be some obstacles:

My workout partner won’t be here for the workouts. I hope I can get my ass out of bed and in front of the tv!

My workout partner/husband won’t be here to help me with the Little Monster (aka, the Toddler). That means I’m more likely to eat whatever just because I’m stressed out. I hate playing single parent.

I’m working from home. Working from home is supposed to make me feel less stressed out as I won’t be rushing in the morning and evening to get everyone (the child, myself, and the dog) ready. Yet, when I’m at home, I tend to snack more. Luckily there is no junk food in this house!!!

I’m going to give it my best this week. I’ll be thinking of all the encouraging things my friends and family said to me today and that will keep me going! I just hope that staring at all the skinny people in the TurboFire videos won’t cause me to throw something through the tv this week! I need to see some fat chicks doing TurboFire…now that would motivate me!

Beachbody Week 3

1/22 Weigh In: 211.2 lbs.

This week’s Weigh In: 211.8

Change: +0.6 lbs.

1st Goal: 5 lbs.

1.8 lbs to go.

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Oh no! I just realize that I have not updated on my weight loss in a couple of weeks. So sorry! I have just been so busy with life that I completely forgot to post. So sad. Anywho, here are the latest updates…

I’ll be honest – Week 2 was a little disappointing. I had hoped to have a bigger loss following last week’s 2.8 lb loss. Thankfully, I just watched the Biggest Loser – Week 2, and it reminded me that the second week is never as good as the first week. This past week was a really good one, nutrition wise. I finally like Shakeology (with Almond Milk), and had it every day but Friday. On Friday, I decided to have a bowl of cereal. Afterall, once Shakeology is done, I’m going to go back to having breakfast in the morning (instead of a shake). It’s a bit too pricey for me to keep it going month after month. I ate a lot of fruit (not so much veggies because I just don’t like them), added some nuts for a snack, and ate a tremendous amount of fiber! I stuck with my chicken, bacon and lettuce wraps, but am planning on some light chicken caesar wraps this week for lunch! On the weekends, I have been allowing room for some indulgence. Yesterday, we went to Chili’s and I got a half rack of ribs. BIG MISTAKE! Why? First off, I really didn’t enjoy it. There’s nothing worse than deviating from eating healthy and not enjoying it. What a waste of calories/fat intake! Second, the ribs had 1100 calories and 63 grams of fat. Ugh, I was disgusted after I looked at this (after I ate it, of course). For dinner, a Jamba Juice Smoothie, to hopefully offset all that nastiness. I got on the scale about 10 times today because I expected a bigger loss, but every time the number was the same. It’s okay because the scale is moving in the right direction. I’m also hoping to work out more this week (longer workouts and possibly more workouts). Here are this week’s stats:

Beachbody Week 2:

1/15 Weigh In: 212.0 lbs.

This week’s Weigh In: 211.2

Change: -0.8 lbs.

1st Goal: 5 lbs.

1.2 lbs to go.

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So the first week is done! I’m surprised I lost weight because I didn’t stick to the eating plan 100% (I had some chocolate and stuff in between as snacks…shame, I know) and didn’t exercise a ton. The workouts are hard, but get easier to learn. I only exercised a total of 30 minutes all week (3 workouts that were 10 minutes in length).

I had some difficulty adjusting to Shakeology. I first tried it mixed with water which was a big no no. It was not good. Then, I tried whole milk. That was better, but it was full of extra fat and calories. My latest attempt was with Almond Milk and we had success! Yay! It tastes like a chocolate shake! Good enough for me. But, it does make about 2 glasses worth which feels like a lot to me. So, I am having half a scoop/half as much and a late morning snack.

Here’s the stats:

Beachbody Week 1:

Starting Weight: 214.8 lbs.

1/15 Weigh In: 212.0 lbs.

Change: -2.8 lbs.

1st Goal: 5 lbs.

2.2 lbs to go.

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It seemed for a short while, that an increase in Cymbalta was actually helping me. I was very hopeful. But now, nearly two months after that increase, I’ve come to realize that any improvement in my symptoms at that time was purely coincidental. Lovely.

I’m up to 60 mg and am not increasing my dose any higher. I’m not better. I’ve just about given up trying to figure out what is causing my pain. Deep down, I know what it is. It’s endo. Even though at my last surgery there were no visible endo lesions, it’s still causing me pain. I’m worse leading up and and during my period. I’ve noticed now, that the pain is very much cyclical (and I hadn’t realized that before).

I have an appointment with a gastroenterologist in February to rule out any other possible causes. I do not think an endoscopy or colonoscopy are going to show us anything else and I hope I’m strong enough to turn them down, if offered or recommended. I always follow through on doctor’s orders, but I am certain of what is causing my problem…the problem that has plagued me for years.

My next stop will likely be a pain management clinic. I’m hoping something other than pain meds can help me!

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It’s time to do something about my fatness. Following up on an earlier post, I have given in to trying something new for my weight loss. I’m going to be doing the Beachbody Challenge. What is Beachbody? Well, it’s part diet change (healthy eating), part meal replacement and part exercise. So far, it’s going okay. I’ve exercised 3x this week and the scale says I’m down 2 lbs. Official weigh in day isn’t until tomorrow, so I’ll see what the true number on the scale is then.

You may not know Bechbody as such, but you probably know about P90X or Insanity. I’m doing TurboFire which is intense cardio. The music is energizing and the routines are fun. It’s been hard because I have to push through pain to get moving, but being overweight and having endometriosis is not helping anything. This time, I feel committed. Why? Maybe because I have a coach to answer to and not just my spouse (he has helped me in the past, but it’s so easy to make excuses with him).

So, this is the latest on my weight. I feel kind of silly since I have been writing about losing weight for a while and there hasn’t been any real decrease in the numbers on the scale. I hope this time is different. It has to be different.

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I can’t really title this post “Weight Loss” because it is enormously deceiving; however, I did title it weight loss just to keep it in line with my existing posts on this subject.

Needless to say, there has not been any weight loss. Calling it weight gain is more appropriate. I have eaten anything and everything this holiday season without thinking twice about it. I think the damage wasn’t too bad – only about 4 0r 5 lbs. I guess for a thin person that would be a lot, but for an overweight person, it’s not too bad. Soon though, I need to get back on track. Since I have tomorrow off from work, I think I’ll delay my grossness 1 more day. Afterall, there are plenty of sweets still in the house and they will certainly ruin me if I start tomorrow.🙂

I also have a friend trying to convince me to get into P90X. I’m not going to lie – it terrifies me. I’m totally inactive and I don’t think it’s something that I can manage at all. It also seems pretty expensive. I’m thinking about it, but don’t think I’m ready yet. I’m going to talk to my friend some more about it and see if that persuades me at all. We will see, but I honestly have no hopes about it. If I’m not making the time to do my EA Active on the Wii, I don’t think I’m going to get into something totally new. I guess we’ll find out!